The Missing Link
by Loyal-Ruby
Summary: Voldemort needs to find the mudbloods still hiding in the Wizard world and he knows if he finds Hermione he will find them. Voldemort/Hermione
1. Chapter 1

**Please note that this story doesn't follow the original plot and I do not own any of the characters in Harry Potter except those that I created.**

**Some personalities of some plot characters will be changed in accordance with the story.**

**x.X.x**

It's been two years since Voldemort took over the Wizarding world and he still saw no sight in end, everyone was just standing up against him, from left and right. Yelling Dumbledore's name over and over again.

Why didn't they understand what he was doing? He wanted to make the Wizarding world pure, cleanse it of mudbloods and blood traitors alike. It was proving far more difficult that he assumed, apparently the mudbloods had a good sense of hiding.

He was still after the know-it-all Granger. She was the biggest threat, he knew from experience she was very smart and usually the mind of any operation. After Harry had died she had gone into hiding, he had found Ron shortly after, but still not her.

He had the suspicion she was hiding other people he wanted dead from him as well. But locating a ghost was proving far more difficult than he thought at first.

Where could she be hiding? There weren't many places he didn't have his minions lurking, his name was made taboo and anyone who spoke it outside of his ring or those denoted the privilege would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of his law.

Even 'he-who-must-not-be-named' and 'The Dark Lord' was made taboo, so he was curious what word she used to describe him to her followers.

That was why it was so frustrating, he had no way to trace her if she didn't slip up, and _Hermione Granger _did not _**slip**_up. He could only hope her pupils, if any, would mention his name, even in their sleep. It would be enough to locate them.

He twirled his wand around his fingers as he thought. If he used the Crucio curse on the person they would surely reveal all and any secrets, or perhaps a truth serum? He would see how long Miss Granger could stay hidden from him.

x.X.x

**This was just the intro chapter. RnR if you like. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Next Chapter up.**

**My Chapters won't be incredibly long, but will be plentiful if the story is popular.**

**Enjoy**

**x.X.x**

Hermione went to sit down on the sofa provided in the one room garden flat she was staying, she had moved to the muggle world as soon as Harry and Ron were killed. She refused to be in contact with her parents. It would only cause her to be discovered and put her parents in harms way.

She didn't want to see anyone else get hurt by that monster that ruined her life, her future, her career and took away everything she cared for.

An irrational part of her wanted to walk right up to him and take him on and yell words she had never used before in common speech. It was a good thing her rationality was playing the bigger part.

She was too scared to help anyone else, she wasn't sure who was a friend or who was a foe. She didn't know who would say his name accidentally or who would give away everything while being tortured.

She was a coward, she realized that now. Harry and Ron had given her courage instead of letting her just hide her face behind books, whenever they were in the room or with her she had a spark of determination to be brave. Like she did when she hit Draco in the face because of Buckbeak.

She would never have been able to do that without their constant vibe. Ron was a coward also, well at least until the last year, but he was always there to help you and would stand up to someone who spoke down to you. She had learned that from him, she had even thought she started to like him. Now he was gone.

Harry had given her bravery and courage, she could stand up to the world when he was next to her, her best friends murdered! Every single time she thought of them the irrational idea sprang into her mind once more.

Now here she was, hiding in someones Garden Flat and working for Muggle Money to manage her hiding expenses. She felt disgusted with herself and wished he would just find her and finish her off, it would be better than living with this dread and guilt.

She had the amazing temptation to just yell his name at the top of her lungs, but everything in her told her that Ron and Harry would want her alive, would want her to make a plan. But what could she do?

Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Dumbledore, Tonks, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Percy, George, Fred, Moody & everyone else was dead, even poor Hagrid didn't stand a chance.

She took in a deep breath as she tried to think of a way to get anything done without getting herself killed. Going to the Wizarding world would be certain death as his Death Eaters were on the constant lookout for her and people like her.

Voldemort had been killing off every Muggle-Born he could find, she knew he hated them and she knew he was also a 'mudblood' as he crudely remarked of their kind. She remembered the first day he decided to do so, he killed over two hundred Muggle-Born Wizards and the days that followed had everyone hiding away but they were found within days. The death toll had risen to over one thousand murdered wizards.

When Ron died she fled for her life and from his corpse. It was enough to see Harry die and then she had to witness Ron as well? She couldn't take it anymore and now she couldn't stand the guilt anymore.

She felt worthless, not even hiding behind her books helped anymore, the painful memories invaded her mind like a sharp knife en caused her chest to contract in pain everytime she thought of them.

She hadn't even managed to finish Hogwarts last year, but it wasn't like it mattered, she could do nothing with the marks she earned at the school. It was worthless points now.

Everything had been worthless, Dumbledore's Army, The Order of the Phoenix, the school, education. What did they fight for? What did it help? They all died in vain. Voldemort was purging the world in an unfair way and no one was powerful or stupid enough to oppose him.

What could she even do? He had the Elder Wand, he was immortal, had an army on his side and the world bowing down to him. She was just one insignificant little Witch.

She sighed as she put her face in her hands, her curly hair falling over her face. She was so weak and powerless against the happening events.

"Oh Harry...what would you have done?" She asked thin air, her own words muffled by her hands as her shoulders started to shake and she felt the now-familiar stinging of tears wanting to escape. She let them. They slid down her cheeks and landed on her hands.

She wiped them away. "You would've fought, made a plan, put your life at risk to save others... to save us from _him_, that is why you died, you died to protect us." She said to herself as she got up from the sofa. Idly heading to the front door of her one roomed flat.

She opened up the door and stepped into the overcast day. The clouds showed it would rain, it reflected her guilt. She wanted to cry. She had no one to hold her up anymore, no one to guide her and provide her with courage and bravery. Nothing but their memory helped her stay alive now.

Soon it began to rain and she just stood there, letting the droplets fuse with her clothing, creating round darker water stains on it. The coolness of the rain on her skin made her shiver and soon it began to pick up and it was pouring down.

"Cry for me..." She said to the sky as she sat down on the grass.

**x.X.x**

**The story will move between Voldemort and Hermione as seen fit and their paths might be merged into one chapter later on. **

**Please RnR**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please RnR if you liked it. **

**And a big thanks to those who reviewed, you give me motivation to continue :) I hope the story doesn't turn out to be an disappointment. **

**x.X.x**

Voldemort glided over Diagon Alley, looking for any signs of her. He doubted strongly he would find her in such an open place, but if they were planning to bring him down they would perhaps need to buy supplies.

He could recognize the confident stride of a pure blood compared to a watchful mudblood. They were like weeds, easy to spot but hard to get rid of. All he really needed was one to find her, one that knew her whereabouts.

Some of his followers questioned him as to why he was so fixated on getting rid of her, in his eyes she was a very smart nuisance and had part of Harry in her, a sort of spark that would bring courage to others. She could or would or was a beacon of hope to those who had given up after Harry was killed.

That was why he killed Ron as well, he had never been so determined to wipe the world of someone since Harry. He did not want her making his idea of a new world harder than it already was.

Suddenly an idea came to him. He teleported back to his manor, taking a seat at the dining table. "Bella!" He yelled, his voice going through the manor, echoing off the walls and a second later she appeared in a puff of black smoke. Bowing before him.

"Yes, Milord?" She asked him as she still kept her eyes low from his.

"Raise yourself up Bellatrix." He said and she did as she was asked, looking at every part of his face except his eyes. Voldemort hated it when someone looked him in his eyes, it was a sort of 'challenge' to his power and he did not like it at all.

"There are two new names to add to our 'prohibited' list." Bellatrix nodded for him to continue. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Exclude everyone who is excluded from the others." He said and she nodded.

"It shall be done." She waited for him to wave his hand, indicating she may leave, and then she disappeared to the Ministry of Magic, ready to do her masters bidding.

Voldemort sat back into the chair, looking around the dining room, he had many meetings in here, this was the house of Lucius Malfoy after all, too bad the pitiful man and his son were dead. Bellatrix had asked him to spare the live of her sister and he had done so, until she tried to flee. He had instructed Bellatrix to do it herself, testing her loyalty and she didn't fail him.

He liked to push people to such limits, to see what they were capable of. Killing their own family, revealing important secrets and seeing how far it takes one to reveal information of crucial importance.

But he wanted _Granger, _he was **sure **she was behind all the commotion from 'freedom believers' and if he had to he would search both muggle and witch world to find her. He would put every word she took in high regard as prohibited until he found her and he **will **find her.

Surely she was grieving the death of her two closest friends? He couldn't wait for those emotions to kick in, he was **very **familiar with revenge, but she would want vengeance, quite different, but just as potent.

If his plan didn't work, he was sure she would come to him, all it took was time and he had plenty, he had been plotting this for a decade and more!

**x.X.x**

**Short and not very sweet, but it's required for character swap.**

**Please, I didn't proof read this chapter, so any errors and lemme know. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, next chapter.**

**Thanks again for the reviews. **

**x.X.x**

Hermione felt something wet land on her face, her eyes shot open and she was up and wand out in a second, only to realize it was the drizzle of the remaining rain. She was soaked from top to bottom and had somehow fallen asleep.

She kept her wand pointed at nothingness and the horrible guilt and dread feeling came back to her. There were others like her who wasn't afraid of the rain, but was afraid of the real threat, had to use their wand after it was drawn and die. Not wake up in shock to find no enemy. They had to wake up from a nightmare expecting to see a monster.

She fell down on the wet grass, clutching her wand in her hand, both her hands on the ground as her knuckles turned white under the strain. "Why can't I do it?" She asked herself as she hit the grass, making a few speckles of mud spray from the area, some landing on her face. "Why can' t I just pull myself together?" She asked herself as she refused to stand up.

She had studied her entire life to be a great Witch, she hadn't even relied on others for this, but once she met them her entire view changed and she became dependent on them for so many things. When they were rude to her she would suffer, when they were nice she would be elated. They were like her mood swings in living flesh.

Now, without any mood, she felt dead. She wasn't sure what to do, they had been through so much together, they were her friends, she considered them close enough to be family and they were stolen from her. Stolen by the monster of her nightmares and the fiend who killed everyone!

She hated him, hated him from the core of her being. There was nothing rational about him, nothing sane. He was a mindless monster, some claimed him intelligent, she argued until she was blue in the face. No one with intelligence would do such horrible things, have such horrible goals and undermine half-bred Witches like that! No, he was a selfish stupid child that never learned to grow up. He was still the damn orphan, wanting power!

"I hate you Voldemort!" She yelled towards the sky and before she could even put her hand to her mouth she heard the sky crackle in an peculiar way...

**x.X.x**

**Merging might happen next chapter, not too sure. Will see how I feel.**

**RnR**


	5. Chapter 5

**Please RnR, if you don't like the direction the story takes let me know. And I think I spelt disapperate wrong. Did I? Oh yes, I'm going away in a few days so I won't be able to update for about two weeks. **

**Oh and sorry for the delay, my Internet usage was reached so I had to wait to buy more. And I am QUITE broke. So sorry :(**

**And the rating is changed because of some violence in the chapter and for oncoming chapters, if you think the rating should be lowered or increased, PM me. **

**x.X.x**

It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Voldemort didn't know what to think, her voice rang clear in his head, not the entire sentence, just his name. He detected anger, hatred and despair in her voice.

He immediately touched his dark mark and sent the message to Bellatrix to go after her, immediately. No delays, no excuses and no coming back with empty hands. Why was he worried anyway? This was Bellatrix he was sending, not some inexperienced tracker?

What he didn't understand was why Hermione was living in the muggle world, he had been keeping a watch on her parents and they knew of nothing. They still thought she was dead after they heard about the Hogwarts incident and they still cried over her, he saw that. So why were she there? Instead of in their world, helping her kind?

**x.X.x**

Hermione looked up at the crackling sky and immediately saw a form taking place in the clouds. How could she have been so stupid! She quickly began running, out of her gate and down the street. Her jeans luckily not restricting her movement as she ran for her life.

_'Running...again_' she thought to herself but her legs refused to stop as she started to fear for her life. Where could she hide? They put a tag on the name and location. How would she ever outrun a group of his Death Eaters. She had spoken the forbidden name out of stupidity and now she was suffering the consequences

Suddenly all the various ways to help the other muggle-born came to mind, she suddenly thought of using polyjuice potion in order to turn into one of his followers, but since she wouldn't actually have the dark mark Voldemort would notice too quickly and she wouldn't know whether he knows until he corners her.

She doubted he'd freak out and send people after her, no, he'd call her in for a 'mission' and then reveal that he knows. He was two-faced and she would never live to tell of another day if trapped in a room with him.

She could disapperate but she wasn't sure if they could follow her trails. As she still thought that she heard the laughter of the Death Eater close by and she immediately recognized it. Bellatrix, the insane woman who killed Sirius Black, Molly and many many more at the fight at Hogwarts.

Her heart went into overdrive, her emotions went mad and she swung around, seeing the bitch glide over to her the way all Death Eaters could and the Order of the Phoenix.

"Ooh, look what we have here!" Bellatrix exclaimed in joy as she went to stand on her feet a few meters away from Hermione, she noticed Hermione had her wand pointed at the ground, holding it tightly. "Love, that ain't going to help you now and you know it." She said as she pointed her own wand at Hermione's face, but Hermione still held hers tightly. Staring Bellatrix directly in the eyes, Bellatrix noticed her eyes no longer held its former innocence and began laughing manically.

"You bitch!" Hermione yelled for the first time at anyone. "You vile murderous **monster**!" She screamed at her, she began shaking violently at the desire to attack. Bellatrix began to laugh.

"Didn't know you cared so much!" She said in glee and then smirked. "You know it wasn't Voldemort who killed your parents or Ron?" She lied, wanting to rile up the little witch even more. And almost immediately she saw the results. Hermione's face grew white and her eye pupils dilated.

Her shaking stopped completely and she stared at Bellatrix in a dazed fashion. Bellatrix looked at her amused, so she hit a nerve, that was good.

"Oh...didn't know mommy and daddy was dead, did you?" She asked and Hermione still stared into nothingness, her wand fell from her hand and clattered to the ground. Bellatrix immediately picked it up and put it inside one of her pockets.

Bellatrix saw the perfect opportunity to continue to torture the little witch. "But you wouldn't know now would you? No, you've been hiding out here, left your parents and friends to die and feel alone." Bellatrix sneered. "What a coward." She said dragging out the word 'coward'

Suddenly she got an reminder from Voldemort about NO DELAYS, she growled. She was enjoying this, when Voldemort got hold of her she would be done torturing and they found so little mudbloods these days because of limited or missing supply that all her toys were gone.

"You ready to come without a fight?" Bellatrix asked, raising her eyebrows in a mocking way, she knew very well Hermione was defenseless without her wand, which she foolishly let drop.

Hermione looked up at Bellatrix, her eyes turning almost as pale as her skin. Bellatrix saw the perfect opportunity for more of a torture session with the girl. She could probably take another 30 seconds before Voldemort got really aggressive with her delay? Right?

She put her index finger to Hermione's forehead and spoke in liquid fire. "Oh how they _begged _for their lives and how they cried when I lied and said it was I who killed you! They died begging for their lives!" She purred out as she shoved Hermione's head back an inch with her finger and then grabbed her arm, turning around. "Now let us go so you can meet the Dark Lord." She spoke with determination.

Hermione's stared at the woman in front of her, her back now turned as she started to drag Hermione with to the flu network or port key that was somewhere close by. Her anger rose to a level she had never felt before, not even when she yelled his name to the sky.

_She _was to blame, she killed Ron, she killed her parents and she killed so many other! "Bellatrix!" She yelled suddenly and just as Bellatrix was turning around, she grabbed a loose brick from a brick fence, and swung it across Bellatrix's face, blood splattered from the witches face onto Hermione's and Bellatrix gave one last stunned expression as she collapsed onto the ground, falling into a heap.

Hermione's anger flared, she grabbed her own wand out of and pointed it at the unconscious death eater. Her face pulled into a gruesome mask of anger and hate. "Avada Kedavra!" She yelled and a jet of green light shot from her hands, making her tremble and Bellatrix's body convulse with the impact.

When she was done and Bellatrix was no longer with the living she still felt like kicking the woman, casting the spell again, mutilating her once beautiful face with the brick further. She grunted with disgust and ran off. She never knew it took so much hatred to cash the killing curse. You really **had **to mean it, they were right when they said that.

As she still ran she decided she had no idea where to go, she didn't expect to get away alive and was going to go with like a good puppy until the bitches last words about her parents! She didn't think a brick would work, a muggle weapon of all things!

But she knew now she had to fight with them, the others, she didn't dare want to think of what she just felt. It was a wrenching feeling of hatred, hopelessness and anger. She didn't want anyone else to be killed from the inside like that. If she could prevent it, she would.

One fact she knew for sure is that Voldemort would come check up on his most beloved supporter soon, only to find a quite a shocking image she was sure. And she didn't want to be NEAR him at that time.

**x.X.x**

**Hope you enjoyed it, if not, lemme know. **

**RnR please.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Right, I bet some of you were waiting for this chapter, as I said, I am sorry for the delay. But I went on vacation and couldn't update as it's rude to write on a vacation with your family and I have a computer which isn't exactly portable or safe on a plane.**

**And another thing, I can't remember when Voldemort himself possesses a mark similar to the others, but if he doesn't, he does now as a way of summoning them.**

**Well, read and enjoy. And yes, I know I forgot to change the rating :S Sorry guys. **

**And I know, it was a long vacation. I will try to update more regularly, but I can't guarantee anything as I'm going to be moving soon to another location and it will require all my attention for a short while, and... oh god... dare I utter the words... job hunting :(**

**x.X.x**

Voldemort was sitting in the dining chair still when he suddenly felt a painful stab in his arm, he immediately pulled up his sleeve and saw blood trail from his dark mark. "Bellatrix..." He hissed out as he rose.

He had reminded her twice now to make fast and both times she said she was busy and now she didn't reply and he felt the loss of a death eater? No, it couldn't be. Bellatrix was years and years above Hermione's skill. There was **no way **that witch would've been able to outsmart or even hurt Bellatrix.

He growled and vanished, he would go see for himself what was taking her so long and then punish her accordingly for ignoring an order and refusing to answer. He had no time for disobedience, even from his favorite.

There was no denying Bellatrix was his best and most loyal supporter. She had always been faithful to him and had stood by his side before his demise and even after it and she was completely insane, a very good quality for the type of future he had in mind and the type of tasks he sent her to do.

Voldemort appeared when he last got a reading on her and immediately smelled blood, he sniffed the air, such a pleasant smell. He turned his head towards the source and when his eyes met the sight he saw he toppled backwards.

Bellatrix! She was lying in a puddle of blood, her face barely recognizable and her body white and hard as stone. She was dead! He fell down next to her and touched her flesh. She was firstly attacked by some...weapon and then killed with the killing curse.

His body felt numb, he had never really thought about losing Bellatrix, she was too cunning, too agile and too powerful to be considered expendable and now she was dead. Killed, murdered by a stupid mudblood!

His body rippled with anger. "Hermione Granger! I will find you!" He yelled towards the direction he saw bloodied footprints go, obviously hers as she escaped.

How on earth did she manage to best Bellatrix? He noticed a bloodied brick lying a few meters away from Bellatrix, so the witch had used a muggle weapon to attack a pure blood witch? How insane was she! And how disgusting!

He hated that little witch from the bottom of his dark heart! He had now had it, he would not send another of his own after her! **He **would find her and **he **would kill her on the spot, she didn't deserve to be given the chance to go through questioning. He didn't care now, he would find her and kill her.

**x.X.x**

Hermione was still running, she had heard his scream to murder her and knew she wasn't far enough, she needed to put more distance between them, much more distance. If she could hear his voice, even if he could project it miles, she as still not far enough. Too close, too close to the murderer.

She didn't know where to go, the muggle world was so vulnerable, so weak to intrusions. She would have no where to hide once he deployed his Death Eaters and she couldn't apperate anywhere without him picking it up somewhere.

He had the ministry under his command, they could monitor magic outside of the wizard world like they did with under age wizards. They could see her cast a spell and pinpoint her location. She suddenly felt so hopeless.

No magic, just her damn feet and dwindling will power to sustain herself. "Oh damn you, you monster! Damn you!" She hissed out under her breath as she continued to run without any end in sight. She was sure if she tried to go to the Leaking Cauldron she would have an unfriendly welcoming committee waiting for her.

Now that Voldemort knew she was in the mortal world he would seal off all exits to make sure he had her trapped. And he was right, he did have her trapped. How long and how far could she possibly run with him on her trail? How could she help anyone else while in her situation?

She wasn't even sure she had her intelligence anymore, anyone with two-cents worth of brainpower would've known to clamp their mouth shut before the Forbidden Name left their lips, and oh no, she went and yelled it at the top of her lungs and now invoked the wrath of Voldemort by killing his most loyal servant.

She had pretty much signed her own death certificate by doing so. She had no idea how to get away from him, put up some sort of distraction to enable her to escape.

A crude idea came to her, but she knew it would cost a few muggle's their lives and she wasn't willing to sacrifice even one more soul for her own life. Her parents were enough, they were the last straw of her cowardly behavior.

"Oh it would've been perfect if I were to be heartless." She muttered to herself, disappointed in her own humanity. She wasn't a survivalist, she wasn't into the 'weak perish and the strong survive', she was possibly the weak. The prey, fighting for a way to get rid of her predator and save her herd while doing so.

x.X.x

Voldemort had retrieved the invisibility cloak from his manor, which he had taken from the dead body of Harry. It had proven quite useful, and now he would see exactly how useful it was.

He knew the mudblood would see his approach and look for shelter, but while he possessed the cloak he was invisible, even to her keen eye and he could glide across the skies like a speckle of dust, unseen, but there.

He had followed the obvious trail, going the way the footprints went, but he still didn't see her. She wasn't on a broomstick and she didn't apperate anywhere or he would've been alerted. So she was on foot. He already had the advantage, considering he was flying above the street. He had a great view and anyone that ran would immediately be his target. He had killed two 'innocent' girls running down the street that he presumed was Miss Granger, but at closer inspection proved otherwise.

He did not mind the deaths of the two muggle's, they were just pests he would've exterminated at a later stage, however, at the quick and unsatisfactory deaths of the women he considered that he would prefer to torture Miss. Granger.

Just seeing her eyes rolled back in her head wouldn't provide him the joy he sought from her death, he wanted her to beg and cry. Plead for mercy and grovel at his feet like the worthless woman she was.

He felt his heartbeat sky rocket as he saw the familiar curly head of the witch, flapping in the wind as she ran, the dead giveaway was the 'stick' in her hand. "Aah, what a joy to finally meet you." He muttered darkly as he quickly fell down in front of her, making her run right into his invisible frame.

She stumbled back and looked around quickly, her eyes looking right through him and as he felt her breath lingering his way he had the temptation to just murder her, but kept his feelings at bay. He had more interesting things planned for her.

She was about to continue on her way when he let the cloak drop off his body and when her eyes met his she shrunk back a few steps and visibly trembled at the sight that would scare the strongest of wizards.

"You didn't think you'd get very far after murdering my Bellatrix, did you?" He asked and she looked at him, her mouth unable to open and her tongue feeling like a dead piece of flesh in her mouth.

He started to circle her, taking her wand from her stiff hand and snapping it in half, he examined her from head to toe. She no longer looked like a student, he must've missed the transformation from girl to woman, but he hardly cared about her maturity. "I have been searching for you, I did not imagine you'd be hiding like a coward." He said and she still could not respond.

Her tongue like lead and her throat too dry to attempt to speak. "Come now." He said as he reluctantly took hold of her arm and within a second they vanished from the street corner, leaving a lingering aura of energy behind.

**x.X.x**

**Yes, I realize, an odd ending to the chapter, but an adequate one. I'll try to update as soon as possible. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, next chapter is up. Please RnR if you liked it or have any comments to deliver.**

**x.X.x**

Voldemort appeared in the dining room of his manor and examined the empty room, no one was close by or even in the manor. All his supporters were out looking for mudbloods and 'freedom fighters'.

He threw Granger down on the ground and looked her over once more, there was blood smeared across her face, no doubt from Bellatrix. He felt his anger flare at the thought of Bellatrix, he could still not believe this pathetic witch got the better of Bellatrix.

"My initial thought was to kill you on the spot for what you did to Bellatrix, though you will be pleased to know I'm decided to drag out your death for my own satisfaction mudblood." He hissed out through clenched teeth and she refused to look at him.

x.X.x

She couldn't find anything else to look at but the ground, she felt like she couldn't speak, the simplest of words left her at his sight. She was frightened to death of him and so angry at what he did to the people she loved that speech evaded her.

She didn't know which part were more dominant, her anger or her fear. Either way, both were a contributing factor to her silence and the idea of being kept alive only for his own amusement didn't make her feel much better about the aspect of survival.

"You will not enjoy what I have planned for you, but know one thing, you will be giving me great pleasure in carrying it out." He hissed out and she growled under her breath. She wanted to spit in his face and bite any visible body part he had to offer, but this time her fear held her back.

She was frightened of dying, if she wasn't she wouldn't have been on the run for so long, she wouldn't have fought for her survival or left her loved ones to die because of her own stupid fear. And where did it get her? She was in his house now anyway, minutes from being tortured or murdered and she couldn't even find the courage to tell him where he could put his wand.

She felt hot tears stinging her eyes and soon a few escaped, she clawed at her own palms until the blood seeped from the newly acquired wounds. "Bastard." She muttered out and she heard Voldemort snicker behind her.

"Did you just manage to speak?" He asked mockingly as he kicked her onto her back, making her look up at him as he loomed over her.

"I called you a bastard." She said more bravely, the tears flowing from her eyes like blood from a wound, he snickered as he put his foot onto her stomach and pressed down with his weight. She grunted and closed her eyes.

"What makes you come to that conclusion?" He asked and she growled as she didn't fight against the pain he was giving her, she welcomed it, it was her own fault she landed here, her own fault that everyone she cared for was dead.

"You killed everyone I loved." She hissed out and he pressed onto her stomach hard, she let out a groan as she felt her inside squirm at the pressure.

"Love, what a peculiar useless word. Though I must admit that I haven't had the pleasure of killing everyone you care about." He said as he removed his foot from her stomach.

"How dare you play innocent you vile murderer!" She coughed out as her stomach was contracting painfully with each breath she took, it felt like he broke something in her body with his foot. "My parents, my friends, my professors and everyone else is dead because of you!" She yelled at him as she still didn't try to sit up.

"Your parents? I don't believe I've had the pleasure of killing them yet." He said and she felt her body going cold. "I have been keeping an eye on them, hoping to locate you through them, though I haven't killed them yet." He said and Hermione suddenly realized Bellatrix had lied to her to get her angry, to hurt her. Her parents were alive!

"You leave them alone!" She screamed at him, forcing her body upright, but he knocked her down the second she dared to lift her head.

"If it will grant you pain if they die, then I shall be pleased to dispatch of them in front of your very eyes." He said as he placed his foot on her ribs this time and pressed down hard. A scream escaped her lips now as she heard it crack, felt the bones inside her body give way to his strength.

After he had pressed down he lifted it off idly, staring at her as her eyes were glazed over, she almost seemed dead, but the ragged breathes escaping her mouth gave away the fact that she was still very much alive and such an annoyance to him.

"I will make you pay for each and every word you spoke against my might, for every year my servant lived that you killed and for every breath you took. You will be my puppet, my toy, my amusement and my example to others who dare betray my might." He said as he walked away from her, he would let her lie there. Bleed from the inside, but he would not let her die. She would live, live until the day she begged for death and begged for him to grant her the ultimate gift of freedom.

She would beg, beg for death.

**x.X.x**

**Hope it wasn't too brutal, but the rating has gone up, so please, bare with me, it won't be like this forever and if you have any ideas. I will put it in if it fits with the story and will give credit to you for the idea. **

**RnR if thou likes. Sorry, been reading Shakespeare on my vacation, was very very bored and technology deprived. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry that I've been out of action. It's way too complicated to explain why. I apologize once more and enjoy. **

**x.X.x **

How could she have had this happen to herself? Lying on the floor with god knows what broken in her body and feeling the most pain she'd EVER felt and unable to fix it. She couldn't even remember passing out from the pain, but all she knew is, it felt worse now and she was in the same building as that monster.

She was at his mercy and it made her want to cry, throw a tantrum and spit in his face, she was being immature, but what other thoughts could she entertain? Escape wasn't an option; she couldn't even stand up if she tried.

She had no wand, no weapon. Her only reason to currently live was to defend her parents, their lives were still out there and it seemed Voldemort was going to make her suffer by killing them in front of her.

How would she handle it? Would she be unable to move? Would she just have to look at him and stare? Watch as he brutally murdered her parents and still pretend to want to live after that?

She attempted to lift her body, but immediately pain shot through her sides... her ribs were broken. "Oh god..." She muttered as she ignored it and lifted herself up on her knees, gasping softly, she didn't want to alert anyone of her actions.

She crawled painfully to the nearest object she could help to lift herself up with, it was a side table. She grabbed it with her hand, her face going white with the pain and slowly pulled herself up until she was sitting on the table, gasping.

How much she wished the nurse of Hogwarts were at her side or she had her wand to repair her bones. So much pain... she never missed being mortal once learning a broken nose or a little wound could be fixed instead of a petrifying visit to the doctor. But now she would choose that even.

Pain pills... how she craved it right now. She wanted it. That and the strength to defend the ones she loved. But she couldn't, she didn't accomplish ANYTHING except still being alive and not even that did her any good. She was useless!

A useless murderer of friends and a toy to a monster. What was her purpose for living? Sure, she had helped Harry and Ron succeed in a lot of things, but she always urged them on and that is why they're dead, because they wouldn't let go!

She had given them the sick sense that if you did nothing you were nothing and now they were gone, because she had always urged them on in succeeding, in fighting and later on even in breaking the rules. Where did it get them and where had it gotten her?

She could barely keep herself upright with all the broken bones and she was nowhere close to even dreaming this nightmare was over. Who could defeat Voldemort? No one was left; all the strongest wizards were dead. Not even one of the school teachers was left to defend them. The other wizarding schools had either died out or joined up.

She felt hopeless. She sighed as she tried to make her way towards the door closest to her, it was a double door, it probably led to the hall or something of the like and that hall might lead to her death, her salvation or her torture. Either way, the odds weren't on her side.

Voldemort was walking down the hall. He would return to the little vixen now. It had been almost twelve hours until their last visit and it almost felt like withdrawal symptoms. He ached to make her suffer.

He was just about to open the door when it opened it front of him; his eyes went wide when he saw she was staring back at him, her eyes clouded over with the pain of the effort and her skin a pasty white color.

When she saw him she couldn't believe her luck, it was insane. Was no one on her side? Not even the Gods? She let go of the door frame and collapsed forward, what was the point?

Voldemort stopped her with his hand before she could fall against him. "You could actually get up after what I did to you?" He asked her and she didn't reply, her hair was matted with blood. He calculated that it was probably Bellatrix's, and with that thought his anger surged again.

"Little witch." He hissed out as he took her by the back of her collar and dragged her back into the room, tossing her onto the floor, a painful groan escaped her mouth and he just stared at her, his face pulled into an angry scowl. As if gazing at her brought him great anger and it did.

"You dare to try and escape, knowing my business is not completed with you? You dare insult me with your futile attempts?" He asked as he hissed down at her, every fibre in his body demanded that he kill her, but his desire to prolong it was worse.

Why he hated her so much was sometimes lost to him as he looked at her, her age, her apparent innocence. She was just like any other wizard he didn't have any emotional attachment to. To him it was an intolerable hate he couldn't explain!

His hatred flared when he thought of Bellatrix and Harry Potter, could it be that she was linked to the two most important things to him? Even if neither existed anymore she was the middle man. The reason for Harry being who he was in strength and the reason Bellatrix was lying in a pool of her own blood.

Being the insufferable know-it-all as Severus had called her when he discussed the 'team' with Voldemort. Extremely smart girl, who would not break a rule, knew everything to an annoying level and were around Ron and Harry like flies. Solving the mysteries, finding the way to do all the right things and to match Voldemort step for step.

The world would be a better place without her, his world would be better without her.

**x.X.x**

**End of Chapter, I will update when I've got time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Enjoy, sorry for typos :)**

**x.X.x**

Hermione couldn't think straight, she was in so much pain and the only energy she had left in her had resulted in a direct meeting with Voldemort.

There was no one looking out for her, no 'God' would give her such bad luck, give her the stupidity to call out the name and give her the stupidity to actually believe she could escape from his gruesome clutches.

Where was the point in the fight she was putting up now? It could only cause her more pain and hurt her more. It could only result in the death of her parents and the torture of herself.

"Vixen, disgusting foul witch; you aren't even worth my time yet I grant it so willingly." He hissed out to her as he circled her downed figure. She coughed at that statement. She would have preferred it if he didn't want to 'donate' his time so willingly to her.

He pointed his wand towards her. "Your physical status isn't even worth worsening, though I will pride myself in hurting you mentally." He said and she didn't bother looking at him. That statement could only mean one thing. He was going to cast the Crucio Curse on her.

"For what information?" She muttered weakly as she didn't try to move anymore, she had too little energy and would need all of it in order to withstand even a fraction of the pain she was about to receive.

Voldemort smirked as steadied his wand hand. "You are a smart girl for recognizing the curse I'm about to use." He said and then opened his mouth to speak the curse.

Hermione braced herself for the pain and then there was a knock on the door. She didn't let go of her mental armor as she heard Voldemort lower his wand with a click as he twirled it around his fingers, a habit of his.

"Come in." Voldemort said and the door opened. She didn't even have the strength to look who it was, but she was sure she would know by the voice.

"Bellatrix has been found dead in the muggle world." Came a voice that Hermione didn't recognize, it was male though.

"Stop looking at the piece of meat on the floor Oruro." Voldemort snapped angrily and Oruro immediately pulled his gaze away from Hermione. Oruro? He must be new to the 'Voldemort Squad' as she knew all the death eater names that he had when he first attacked Hogwarts.

"Sorry milord, I was thinking it might've been that Granger girl you've been after, I found this at the scene." He said and she didn't know what he was showing to Voldemort, she didn't particularly care at this very moment.

"This is my cloak, I forgot it there." He said and Hermione got a pang of nostalgia as she remembered that cloak used to belong to Harry, it could only be the invisibility cloak. "And this _thing…"_ He spat out the last word. "…is Granger. You are quite correct that she is the one who murdered Bellatrix." He said and Oruro was quiet for a few seconds.

"Alright milord." He said and then soon after she heard the door close.

Voldemort put the cloak down on the table and returned his attention to her. Even though he had the short and unwelcome distraction he was not willing to let it daunt his hatred towards her. He didn't even fully understand why he had the desire to keep her alive for torture.

Had he not tortured her enough? He had taken her life from her, he had killed her boyfriend and best friend, he had murdered most of her class and was soon going to take her parents from her. How much more did a person have to lose?

"New recruits?" She choked in reference to Oruro, a death eater she had never heard of before. Voldemort was amused at her casual attempt at conversation to delay the curse.

"Yes, you will not understand how eager people are to change their 'ways' once their lives are put in danger, they change quicker than you could understand that curse statement." He said and Hermione didn't reply, he took it as an indication that she was accepting the fact that she will get cursed, regardless of her petty attempts at conversation.

He raised his wand again and he didn't know whether she sensed, saw or heard it but she began talking again. "I always perceived you as an irrational, powerful entity…" She muttered and he waited for her to finish the sentence. "…but it seems you are rational and logical, possibly smarter than most of our school according to your history there…" She spat out blood and groaned as her body ached with the minute convulsion.

"Get to the point Miss Granger." He said and she couldn't even nod as she lay her head back down on the concrete flooring, breathing shallowly.

"It makes no sense that a smart, rational, logical and powerful entity would want to destroy everything… you could've been Prime Minister, or even the Headmaster at Hogwarts, yet you chose this life of evil and fear. Why is that?" She asked as her breath came out grated.

"Why? I would've thought that answer was obvious for someone as 'smart' as you are. I lack compassion Miss Granger. I lack patience and I lack the need to toy with people and lead them in a direction that is not satisfactory to myself." He said as he continued to point his wand towards her.

"How can you lack compassion if you care for yourself?" She asked as she finally closed her eyes as the mixture of pain and exhaustion urged her towards sleep.

"Animal instinct Miss Granger. Even in nature the most secluded animals look out for themselves and their own life. They will run when threatened and will fight if they can win. They will feed themselves and drink water to retain fatigue levels. Yet they do not see the need to lead another of their kind towards the meal or water hole. Instead they defend what is theirs and fight for the territory and food they want." He said and she was quiet for a few seconds before she began speaking again.

"Yet animals don't go extinct unless environmental or other passive issues are involved, so it does call for interaction, compassion and all the things you seem to lack." She said and Voldemort let out a dry laugh.

"You are implying sex? Miss Granger I can assure you there need not be any emotional attachment for that little act of 'compassion' as you seem to call it. Only the mammal species of animals seem to keep an attachment after mating. Either you haven't quite noticed I lean more to the reptile side or you are being blind." He said and she sighed.

"Just do it already…" She muttered and Voldemort repositioned his wand at her, he had let it lower a bit while in conversation.

"Crucio!" He hissed at her as his eyes flashed blood red for a second and soon all he could hear was the comforting screams of torture…

**x.X.x**

**A bit of conversation between the two, a good start is it not? Sorry if the chapter is a bit dark, but I did change the rating after all. Any feedback will be appreciated and I apologize for any grammar and typo errors.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Next chapter is up, hope it appeases you or makes up for the long time I didn't update.**

**x.X.x**

Voldemort had managed to pull himself away from the curse; he didn't want to stop once he started. The curse wasn't made to kill someone as it induced no physical damage but he had the idea if he did it any longer and she screamed anymore she might've actually died.

He wasn't sure exactly how long he had cursed her for, it had seemed to be well over an hour before he realized he had put himself into a murderous trance and had immediately stopped. He had left the girl completely shaken. He could see in her eyes that not even she had expected he could hold a curse so long or be as brutal as he was.

It was a good wakeup call for her. She had messed with him for years, destroyed or delayed his plans and now she had to suffer for it. Every hour she had her nose stuck in a book in order to find a way to evade his next move he would punish her for and he was sure it was more than a mere hour.

He was now on the way back to his personal courtiers in the Malfoy house; he had taken up residence here when he first came back to power and hadn't found the need to leave since then. Of course Bellatrix had killed both Lucius and Narcissa for their traitorous behavior when he took over Hogwarts in its fight against him.

The son, Draco, was also killed as he was as much a coward as the rest of his family, the exception being Bellatrix. Draco would've been 20 or 21 this year. Voldemort wasn't sure and didn't really care for the age of a dead boy.

Granger was of same age, no longer an annoying girl, but instead an annoying woman. What a world for her to grow up in, celebrating your birthday by hoping you live through the day without being found by your worst enemy.

And yet she was found by him, due to her own stupidity as it seemed. She wasn't always the smartest witch around because of her mouth that never seemed to stop talking.

He had her silent now, she didn't even attempt to speak to him once he was done with her, she didn't even _look _at him as she was too petrified. He now considered finding her parents, bringing them to her and murdering them. He knew that was the ultimate way left to harm her, the last few people she cared about.

He smirked and disapperated.

x.X.x

Voldemort landed in the familiar living room, familiar because he had been keeping an eye on the place since Hermione had fled for her life. He saw two stunned people sitting on the couch, watching something he recognized to be a television.

"Who are you?" The woman asked immediately, she looked a bit like a much older version of Hermione. "You are from my…my…" The woman couldn't finish the sentence, couldn't mutter the word daughter.

"Yes." Voldemort said as he looked at the man now, he just seemed to be silent, like he didn't have anything to say or didn't want to be reminded of Hermione either. They thought their daughter was dead; obviously they wanted to break all ties with that inconvenient lie.

"What do you want here? It's been more than two years and we haven't heard from h…haven't heard anything." The man spoke now and Voldemort was amused that they didn't find his appearance alarming, perhaps they had met a house elf before and considered him normal compared to that.

"Actually, your daughter is very much alive, for the moment." He added and both parents looked at him shocked, their eyes wide. "And I am Lord Voldemort." He said with a smirk as he walked to their frozen figures and grabbed their arms, disappearing back to his world.

x.X.x

When Voldemort came into the room with Hermione he dropped the parents by her side. "She will tell you what I have planned for you." He said with a laugh as he left the room, locking it behind him to make sure they couldn't leave.

The mother and father looked at Hermione's still figure and ran to her side immediately; turning her onto her back and a painful groan escaped her mouth. When she saw her parents she went white in her face.

"You're alive!" The mother yelled as the tears started to flow freely and the father seemed to be trying to hold his own tears back at the sight of his daughter. She was mutilated, he could see blood all over her and internal bleeding from her ribcage. The worst part was that he could do nothing to avenge her; he could do nothing to make that Voldemort man pay.

He knew exactly who he was; he was the one responsible for all the murders in her world, a serial killer of sorts that wanted to take over the world.

Hermione felt the tears leave her eyes, he was going to do it, he was going to kill her parents in front of her eyes! "You have to get out of here! He wants to kill you!" She yelled suddenly as she forced herself to sit up, every inch of her body was aching and begging her to lie back down but she couldn't, she wouldn't!

"Honey, take it easy!" Her mother shrieked as she saw her daughter go paler and paler with each attempt to rise.

"No, no, I won't!" She yelled as she got up, almost toppling back as she put her hand against the wall for support. Her parents were by her side in a second. "I won't let him kill you, I won't! You did nothing wrong, you were only associated with me!" She yelled as she used the support of her parents to stand as she looked around the room.

Her vision was blurry and she struggled to make out even the simplest of items but when she saw one specific item she got a small spark of home. The invisibility cloak! Voldemort had forgotten it!

"Help me get there." She muttered and her parents did as they were asked and she picked up the cloak. "I can get you out of here… I can do it." She muttered as she picked up the cloak and heard something clatter to the ground. She didn't pay attention to it.

"You just have to find a way to… to get out of here…" She whispered and her parents looked at the cloak, not understand how it would help in any way.

"Alright… but you can show us the way can't you, you know this place better than us?" They asked and she gave a sad smile as she shook her head.

"Mom…dad…" Tears started to escape her eyes as she sobbed like mad, her body shaking. "I won't be able to leave… Only…only two people can fit under that cloak completely…" She said and her parents shook their heads immediately.

They would never leave their little girl behind after finding her again, there was no way. "No, we're not going to leave you here Hermione! Look what that monster did to already!" The father yelled angrily and Hermione shook her head.

"You don't understand!" She snapped at them. "He plans to kill you _in front _of me! He plans to MURDER YOU IN FRONT OF ME! I can't let that happen and if you can escape then take it! DO IT!" She yelled and the parents looked shock at the outburst.

They looked towards the ground and the mother got a confused look on her face. "Isn't that your wand? Why is it black?" She asked and Hermione looked towards the ground and saw what clattered out of the cloak and she felt hope surge through her again.

Bellatrix… it was her wand, it was her wand! Hermione looked towards her mom. "Please pick it up for me." She said and the mother did so, handing it to Hermione. Oruro obviously brought it back to Voldemort with the cloak. Hermione then saw her broken wand lying on the floor as well.

He probably thought Voldemort would want to examine it to see what spell was cast last. And how grateful she was he did so and that Voldemort forgot it.

"Is this good?" Her mother asked and if Hermione wasn't in so much pain she would've laughed. This was excellent.

"Yes, very… but…but…" her heart sank. "I still can't… still can't fit under the cloak with you." She muttered and her mother thought for a second.

"What is that charm you told me about? The one that Harry used to make that spider so big?" Her mother and Hermione weren't grateful to hear the name of Harry but immediately understood what her mother meant.

"Of course… mom, you're a genius!" She said as she pointed the wand towards the cloak. "Engorgio!" She yelled softly and the cloak expanded to double the size.

"Now what exactly does this cloak do?" The father asked as he rubbed his fingers over the silky material. "Does it make you immune to spells or something like that?" He asked and Hermione shook her head.

"Makes you invisible." She said as she took the cloak and tossed it over all of them and was grateful to see it covered everything. "Help me over to the door." She said as they did, following her under the cloak. They didn't argue about the invisibility. They found very little strange about her world since she used to talk about it so much when she lived with them.

"Now what?"Her parents asked and Hermione's heart was beating so fast she felt like she was going to faint. This idea had two outcomes. Either he notices immediately, finds her and murders her parents or they escape and go on the run again.

"We wait here by the door, when Voldemort comes in we slip out. We do not make a _noise_." She said and her parents nodded.

"How long before he comes?" Her mother asked and Hermione shrugged her shoulders. She would've preferred to use the Alohamora charm to unlock the door, but the possibility of being heard of suspected was much higher than waiting to sneak passed Voldemort.

"Not long, he wouldn't give us much time together before deciding to take it away from me." She said with scorn and then she heard the door unlock…

**x.X.x**

**This chapter was different than my others and if you didn't like it, feel free to tell me. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Next Chapter.**

**x.X.x**

Hermione braced herself, she hushed her parents again and when the door opened she waited for Voldemort to come in. Luckily he wouldn't be able to see the entire room from the door, she he would have to come inside to get a proper view.

She was stunned when she saw a death eater come in. He was a young boy; she figured this must be Oruro. She almost sighed in relief that it wasn't Voldemort. He was carrying a plate of food, obviously for her. She recognized the sentiment immediately.

Voldemort would feed her so that she had enough strength to feel the full impact of the death of her parents. Well that wouldn't happen.

She had a better plan now. A much better one.

Oruro went into the room and started to look down; when he didn't see anyone he was confused and put down the food to look better. That was what Hermione was waiting for!

She was glad she had mastered the voiceless curses. Petrificus Totalus was the one she was about to cast. She edged her parents closer to him with her and as soon as she was close enough to him she cast it. The boy seemed to turn to stone in front of her and before he could hit the ground she grabbed him and gently eased him onto the ground so that it didn't make any unusual noise.

"C'mon." She mouthed to her parents and left the room silently, she closed the door behind her. Since no one could see them they would assume Oruro closed the door behind himself.

The hallway was empty as she slowly moved along it, casting Muffliato so that no one could hear their footsteps or any other noises they might make and then pointed the wand at herself and started to cast spells to heal her bones from inside, it was painful as she had to continue walking but soon she felt much better.

Hermione felt nervousness set in as they reached the front door, there was no one... it was strange, unusual… She didn't have time to fret; she needed to get her parents out of here.

She opened the door and stepped outside into the cool breeze of night. The second she took another step the cloak was yanked of her and she spun around. Looking Voldemort in the eyes and she felt petrified once more.

He looked so angry and she didn't know what to do, but she shoved both her parents backwards, moving back herself.

"How stupid do you think I am Miss Granger?" He asked her through a hiss and she didn't respond as she looked at her mother and father, they seemed unsure of what to do and she shook her head, telling them to do nothing.

"I won't let you kill them to torture me!" She yelled towards him finally and he gave a dry humorless laugh as he advanced on her, his wand pointed at her dangerously. She held hers tightly to her side.

"What choice do you think you have in that!" He yelled towards her as she saw the Stupefy spell forming at the end of his wand.

"Protego!" She yelled and a shield came around both her mother and father, leaving herself vulnerable. Voldemort laughed as he lowered his wand.

"You cannot stop me; you cannot even use that wand properly!" He said and she suddenly lifted her wand and put it to her jaw.

"You want to torture me right?" She asked and Voldemort smirked as he crossed his arms and gave a nod. "Then if I kill myself it will ruin all your fun?" She asked again and Voldemort nodded once more.

"Yes, but you won't kill yourself, you are a coward." He stated and she growled as she shook her head. "Are you saying you will?" He asked mockingly.

"I will, unless you let my parents go." She said and Voldemort didn't immediately respond, he was looking into her eyes as she dared look into his still. She was serious; she would use the killing curse on herself to deprive him of fun and save her from seeing her parents die in front of her eyes.

"Fine." He said angrily as he walked towards her and she took a step back. "Oh no Miss Granger, you are not going alone. I will take them back to the muggle world with you." He said and she growled, shaking her head.

"You'll send death eaters after them immediately once we're back." She argued and Voldemort smirked as he shook his head again.

"It will be a bit difficult to find them with the cloak, won't it?" He asked and she realized he was permitting them to keep the cloak so that it would seem like he was going to keep his word.

"Fine." She said, she had no reason to trust him, but the cloak would enhance their chances of escaping. She looked towards her parents and they looked horrified at her decision to stay here to save them. "Mom, dad, I'm sorry, I have no choice but to do this or we all will die. I love you too much to lose you." She said as she walked towards them and Voldemort walked towards her.

She still had the wand to her jaw and Voldemort had seen how quickly she could cast, she would kill herself before he could stun her. He was willing to let the parents and the cloak go so he could have her still. He would get both back later.

He put his hand on both of the parents shoulder. Hermione would damage them if she tried to disapperate with them since they didn't possess a wand. The parents looked repulsed at his touch but said nothing and Hermione unwillingly touched his arm with her free hand and then everything started to spin.

**x.X.x**

**I'm not sure whether there is a spell to heal the bones and such, if not, pretend there is. If there is, however, tell me the details please. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Next Chapter, enjoy. Oh yeah, if you don't understand what I mean by Hermione holding the wand to her jaw, think of how Harry held it to Dudley in the Third Movie. Like that. **

**x.X.x**

When everything came into perspective again Hermione saw they were standing in the muggle world, close to the place she used to work, the people would probably wonder what happened to her but she would never be able to explain.

Hermione turned to her parents. "Don't go back home, you have to run and start new, away from here if possible where he can't find you." She said and her parents could do nothing but nod. Their daughter was not going to change her mind, they could see that.

The mother started to cry softly and the father was chewing his inner cheek, attempting to hold back his tears at having to say goodbye to their daughter again. The mother walked forward and hugged Hermione, who could only return it with one arm as the other was still holding the wand to her jaw.

The father didn't do such a thing, he only spoke. "Hermione, you are the smartest woman I know, you will find a way to survive and come back to us." He said and she nodded.

"Go, now, please." Hermione said as she found her own tears threaten to escape at the goodbye, she could've been with them, skipping the town, if Voldemort hadn't apprehended her outside.

They nodded and put the cloak over themselves. "Is it working?" They asked and Hermione nodded.

"Don't take it off until you're safe." She said and then turned towards Voldemort, hearing her parents' footsteps as they ran away. She waited until she couldn't hear it and then took the wand from her jaw and held it out to Voldemort. "There, I am yours again." She said and he took it immediately.

She didn't know why she didn't just kill herself. Her parents were safe and she was probably going to die anyway, but it was that 'probably' that left some hope in her. She could still live and if there was even the slightest chance of that she would cling on.

"You are smart Miss Granger." He said, anger still riddled his face and she wasn't sure what reactions she had invoked with her action of escape. "To have thought of that plan the way you did in such a short amount of time. I didn't even leave you alone for 5 minutes and you already petrified my servant and managed to get out of the castle." He looked her over and then smirked. "And even managed to heal the damage to your bones." He said and she knew he was thinking of various ways to re-inflict those gruesome wounds on her.

"I suppose I should 'thank' you for the compliment." She said darkly, she hated the man standing in front of her, yet she could not run, she could not escape him. She had to endure his presence so close to her. At least she had managed to protect her parents from him; for the time being anyway.

Even if she did die she still had the comforting feeling that her parents might live, that they might escape and that she was able to best Voldemort in something he wanted. He had given up a crucial part of her torture and the cloak in order to keep her alive for God only knew what.

"Perhaps you should." He said and then roughly took hold of her shoulder. "But I have no time to be in this pathetic part of the world." He said and then disapperated.

x.X.x

They arrived back in the room she was kept promptly and he didn't toss her on the ground this time, he just pushed her away from him rudely. She didn't argue, being that close to such a foul creature made her stomach lurch.

"Don't get confidence Granger." He said, leaving out the Miss part this time. "You will best me again as I will not leave another tool for you to use in the room." He said and she noticed Oruro was missing from the room; he either woke up from the spell or was carried out.

She didn't answer him as she stared him in the eyes, she had noticed it annoyed him and she made sure she did it as often as she could. She had played the coward long enough. She had her fear rule her life and she wouldn't do it anymore. Had she been a coward her parents would still have been stuck in the room with her.

He would've killed them while she did nothing at all; being a coward had only served her death sentence so far, if she was going to die by his hand, she would go bravely to her grave, like Harry and Ron did.

"Confidence has nothing to do with it." She said and Voldemort growled at her arrogance she had gotten all of the sudden.

"Then don't get brave, you don't deserve such a novelty as you hid all the time I was hunting everyone else. You have a worse animal instinct that I do Granger. You only looked out for yourself in fear of being associated with someone that could betray you." He hissed at her and she felt her heart sink at the words, it wasn't because it came from him, it was because it was true.

She had been a coward for two years and she hated it, how could she ever amend for it? She was probably beyond redemption by now. She could've been saving people, leading them to safety. If she had managed to stay hidden for two years she could've helped other people do the same.

"Go away." She said quietly and Voldemort smirked at his victory over her.

"Eat your meal." He said as he left and she realized the food that Oruro left was still there, she inspected it and realized it wasn't very different from what she usually ate, perhaps lower standards but not sludge or human remains like she would've expected.

She sighed and started to eat, she didn't worry about poison, why would he want to poison her if he sacrificed his prey and cloak for her to be alive long enough to torture her? It made her dread grow as she realized he still had a hell of a joyride in store for her and there was nothing she could about it except wait to experience it.

**x.X.x**

**Hope you enjoyed it :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, thanks a lot for all the reviews and support. I really appreciate it. **

**x.X.x**

Voldemort was in his personal quarters now, he was twirling his wand between his fingers again as he contemplated how she had managed to formulate an escape plan so quickly. It was unreal to him, he had heard she was smart, probably the smartest witch in Hogwarts. But he had not expected cunning behavior and such intelligence to exist in a witch so young.

Even the scenario with Bellatrix was intelligent, perhaps it was induced by rage or fear, but she had still managed to best a witch double her age, double her agility and double her power with a muggle weapon that wouldn't even frighten the weakest of magical folk.

He knew she had always scored perfect scores on all her exams, though she lacked the knowledge to do well in practical exercises, such as Quidditch. She was only happy when she had her nose in a book and could use that information to improve herself.

She probably had a wider spell range than Bellatrix, even if she had no knowledge of the dark arts. She was like a computer in the muggle world, she processed data and didn't let it go and could recall it at crucial times.

She would've made a very efficient death eater if she wasn't so 'pure', probably stronger than Bellatrix or any of his other death eaters. If she was taught the art of magical combat she would've been great, but instead she chose the path of a bookworm that relied on luck and instinct.

He wasn't as angry about Bellatrix anymore, he understood how it had happened and could see no other outcome. Bellatrix was a spontaneous being, she would act on impulse and taunt, never worried about an attack from the weak and to her Hermione were the weak.

Hell, he even thought the girl was weak and stupid; he was so wrong he couldn't even begin to explain. She could've been the next Dark Lord had she taken the same actions as he did. Graciously the girl was only interested in keeping her knowledge to books and not taking action on what she read.

She had probably read a few dark arts books and had probably gained the knowledge but had never felt the impulse to act upon the power she read of. It was amazing actually. The moment he had read about the Horcruxes in the forbidden section he was transfixed and had set out to manipulate that power as much as possible.

He had obviously managed, regarding his situation and power, but he could've easily become the next Dumbledore if he had taken action and not lacked compassion. Yet he had no compassion, he only had envy, revenge, anger, hatred and awe.

Had had envy, hatred, anger and awe for Granger, she had managed to invoke four of his five emotions and that was usually very difficult to do with him. He rarely had envy or awe for someone, but for her… her intelligence, her mind power was amazing. He would've liked to know exactly how powerful it was but he would never be sure.

He sighed as he lay down on the bed, after putting up the charms around the room, he didn't trust anyone to come into his room. It was his ground and while he rested he wanted to be sure no one could loom over his head with a wand.

x.X.x

Hermione smirked as she picked up the two broken pieces of her wand. She wasn't as smart as Voldemort had said, if she was smart she would've cast 'Reparo' on her broken wand in case she did land back here somehow. She hadn't thought of that even. She had just assumed she would be free after acquiring the cloak and the wand.

She would try to acquire mending material for her wand, in the meantime she would hide it from anyone and act inconspicuously towards anyone, if she had enough time and could gather enough materials she could try to escape again, and perhaps she could learn when Voldemort would be leaving on business and use that opportunity to get free.

She sighed as she looked around; there wasn't even a book in here for her to read. She had nothing else to do but wait for Voldemort to decide when her next 'session' would be and she had no idea what he would have in store for her once he did come.

It was like waiting for a bad surprise that you really didn't want but was going to get anyway. She was glad she had managed to repair herself before he got to her outside, she wouldn't have had the strength to threaten if she hadn't.

She went to sit against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to imagine the worst thing Voldemort could possibly do to her so that the reality wouldn't be so bad. Thinking of sunshine and roses wouldn't make it any easier; thinking worse than it would be would make it better.

x.X.x

Voldemort was on the way to her room now; he had a few ideas planned for her. Brutally assaulting her was an idea but it would leave her too weak to endure anything else. Damage mentally and mild damage physically would be a nice an efficient combination.

He had no information to get out of her, she didn't know where these 'freedom fighters' were as she was doing nothing but hiding since Ron was killed. He just received pleasure through doing it; enacting pain on her was now his pastime.

Perhaps he would invade her mind and make her most personal memories come to live in front of her, torture her with the last images of Ron and Harry…

**x.X.x**

**It's very short, but I don't have a lot of time to write today. I'm sorry. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the long delay, I was on vacation and now I have the flu and just barely recovering. I'll write what I can in this state, excuse any mistakes as I'm not completely coherent at the moment. **

**Thank you for the reviews as well **

**x.X.x**

Hermione heard the door unlock and already dreaded the encounter to come; it wouldn't be Oruro as he had brought her food already. It could only be one person and as her fears expected, she saw Voldemort enter the room.

Every time she saw him dread assaulted her, she had to remember that she had to remain strong, she would n not die a coward or be tortured being a coward, she would stand her ground and hold her tongue for nothing he said. She would be the person Harry and Ron had wanted her to be.

"You look healthier." He commented as she still sat against the wall, not willing to stand up in his presence, he didn't deserve the respect.

"Get it over with." She said as she stared at the ground, her hair a faint red color as the blood was still entwined with her normal golden hair. She would've given almost anything for a shower; she was sweaty, full of blood and dirty. Of course, Voldemort enjoyed her turmoil so she wouldn't get any such luxuries out of him.

"That was my plan." He said with a smirk as he walked to in front of her, he suspected she knew almost nothing of occlumency and thus invading her mind would be easy. He immediately did so and felt the void open up between their minds.

He saw her through the years… her most potent memories coming forth.

"_It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly!" He saw Ron exclaim to Harry and Hermione stand up and run away from the room, her books tightly clutched in her hands and she made her way for the girls' bathroom._

_Hermione was sitting on the stairs, crying, dressed in a pink silken dress, her hair tied back beautifully as Ron has just insulted her for being with Viktor Krum. _

_A girl with a pink headband falling all over Ron, Hermione sending birds to him out of anger at them being together and confiding in Harry about her attraction to Ron._

Voldemort pulled his mind out of hers and she looked utterly petrified at what he had just done to her. "You were really fascinated with Ron, weren't you?" He asked mockingly as he glided to in front of her, his black robe flowing around his legs as he did so.

"Stay out of my mind!" She yelled at him, her restraints snapping, all she had was her precious memories and she didn't need Voldemort to defile them! They were hers and hers alone.

"And how will you make me do that?" He asked with a laugh and her spark vanished almost immediately, there was no way she could get Voldemort to not do whatever it is he wanted to do.

"I thought so." He said with a snicker and she didn't even look at him.

"You're disgusting." She retorted and he smirked at the comment, it wasn't the first time he had heard that.

"Let me see what else your mind has to hide…" He whispered as he invaded her mind once again…

x.X.x

Voldemort had left her in tears at everything he had learned about her, he knew her entire life story, her fears, her choices and even what she thought when she was hiding and it scared her, he could see that. No one knew that much about her and she obviously didn't like the only person to be Voldemort.

x.X.x

Hermione clutched onto herself as if it was freezing, tears streaming down her face in waves of anguish, she had never suspected he would use something like that against her, she never thought he would be smart enough to realize it would hurt her so much.

She didn't even know it would hurt her so much until he did it. All her memories were now shared; all her fears and hopes exploited. Everything feeling, every personal memory and every hateful spike had been revealed to him because she wasn't strong enough to fight him off.

She felt violated, even worse than something like rape would make her feel. Everything precious had been taken from her, even if her memories remained her own it now belonged to the vilest man on the planet and he didn't deserve to have it or see it.

She was also positive he would use every bit of it against her if the opportunity presented itself, worst of all is she had no idea how long she would still be under his 'care'.

How could she remain strong when he knew everything that would make her weak?

x.X.x

Voldemort had retreated to his chamber and was absently pacing the room as he ran through the memories he had collected from her mind.

Most of them were dull, she had never done anything she wasn't supposed to until she met Harry and Ron, always on time for class, always perfect marks. Her entire life had gone about studying to be the best. Even in the DA meetings Harry had established she was one of the best.

Though she would never fair well in a fight on her own, she didn't have it in her to fight alone or to be taken by surprise. In a dual she would possibly win anyone as she would be prepared and ready for a fight and would have all the attacks in the back of her mind.

What she saw in Ron he couldn't place, the boy was possibly the dumbest boy in her age group and she was probably the smartest girl in her age group and yet they were attracted to each other? Voldemort knew he would never understand love, but attraction he understood and this he did not understand.

The Weasley kid barely had courage in him and since the start he had denoted Hermione as a know-it-all pest. Yet, regardless of the obvious hatred they had for each other, attraction seemed to spring foreword after a while.

How could you despise someone and then start to love them? How could hatred turn into passion? He didn't understand it. At the start Hermione hated Ron for his rudeness and stupidity and then it all just changed?

It was bizarre to him and he would probably never understand it, the two of them were opposites, yet he ruled most of her memories and was the only person that could make her cry because of rudeness or seeing him with another.

"Women… what an enigma…" He muttered as he decided to retire, he would dwell on the memories tomorrow.

**x.X.x**

**Please RnR**


	15. Chapter 15

**Please read and enjoy and VERY sorry for the short chapter, I'm busy packing for vacation and between packing and living I managed to fit about 600 words in for this chapter, it's VERY short, but I promise to try and finish the next one in the next few days as I'll have more time and freedom then.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys, I really appreciate it :)**

**x.X.x**

Hermione didn't remember falling asleep, all she remembered was crying endlessly at the violation Voldemort had conducted on her and how it made her feel.

She lifted her head up and looked around the room, but all that met her was darkness. She pulled herself up, it was impossible to even tell the time of day in this room, she felt like she was in a void of endless darkness.

She touched her blooded hair and once again wished she had access to a shower or something likewise, or even a cold river to wash herself off in. Yet she knew nothing of the sort would happen while under the 'care' of Voldemort.

"Relax Hermione…" She said to herself as she closed her eyes, there was nothing she could do at the moment except panic and that didn't help her, not one bit, she was doomed to be stuck in this room until he had the desire to kill her or release her. She doubted the latter would ever happen.

She stared around the room, the emptiness creating a void of despair around her and the darkness lathering her with panic she had never felt before, it was menacing and she no idea how she would ever manage to see the daylight again; the mere thought of daylight or the enticing smell of freshly mown grass made her feel depression.

Was this what he had wanted? Instead of killing her out straight he was going to make her miss every pleasant memory he had so violently ripped from her mind and make her suffer for it by bringing it up? Didn't he say he was going to make her beg for death instead of fight it?

Lord, how could anyone be as cruel as this monster she was stuck with? She could barely remember what she had thought about him previously, fear she had, a bit of admiration even; but everything escalated since he captured her except her admiration.

Her fear went sky-high, her panic went through the roof and her love for life diminished, he invoked such powerful emotions in her she wasn't sure she wasn't under some spell to make everything more intense. She had never imagined it would be this bad.

Sure, she had envisioned what would happen if he was to catch her, but it was nothing like this, she had thought he would cut her and yell at her, make her feel weak and pathetic, damage and break her body like a twig and curse her until her eyes popped out; no, instead she was given a sort of silent treatment, he did torture her and he had broken her bones, but no more than once for each. The worse was, of course, the mind violation and she feared he would conduct that on her again, make her relive every painful memory in her head, along with every joyous one.

"Save me someone…" She softly whispered as she lowered her head again, all her energy and bravery gone with the mere thought of what he did to her and what he would do to her in the days to come, she had little to no energy left for Voldemort's cruelty.

Perhaps she would beg for death when he came for her again.


End file.
